April 20, 2008

Green Berets Recount Deadly Taliban Ambush

Special Forces Troops Tell 60 Minutes Taliban Fighters Better Organized Than They Expected

  • Play CBS Video Video Ambush In Afghanistan

    U.S. Army Special Forces say they were shocked by military tactics used by Taliban fighters who ambushed them near Kandahar, Afghanistan, in their first account of the unreported battle. Lara Logan reports.

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(CBS)  With all the focus on the war in Iraq, we don't hear much about the war in Afghanistan any more, even though the U.S. is fighting the Taliban nearly seven years after they seemed to be defeated.

And we hardly ever hear from the elite, secretive U.S. Special Forces who are leading that fight. But a Green Beret team wanted to talk to 60 Minutes to honor the men they lost when they were ambushed by hundreds of Taliban fighters two years ago.

Not since "Black Hawk Down" in Somalia have we heard a story of a small band of elite American soldiers who were so badly outnumbered and fighting for their lives.

This is a story about valor. But it's also a wake-up call about the growing strength of the enemy in Afghanistan.



From behind enemy lines, a Taliban camera captured pictures of the fighting, which started at sundown on June 23, 2006.

"And it's like all hell breaks loose. Literally, all hell breaks loose," remembers Major Shef Ford. "The enemy is firing at all directions at us. And soldiers are trying to identify the positions and return fire. They had completely surrounded us and were firing at us with multiple systems."

The battle, over two days and two nights, took place in a small village about 12 miles southwest of the city of Kandahar. The Green Berets, just nine of them, went into the village with eight other American and 48 Afghan soldiers. They were on a mission to capture or kill a Taliban commander known to operate in the area.

Maj. Ford says he didn't know hundreds of well-armed, well-supplied hardcore Taliban were waiting to ambush his men. American forces were accustomed to quick hit and run attacks by the Taliban, but Ford and Sergeant Brendan O'Connor say they were shocked by the sustained, organized assault in the village.

"We had not seen this disciplined execution of infantry tactics," Sgt. O'Connor explains.

"And you had never experienced anything like this?" correspondent Lara Logan asks.

"Not to this extent," Ford says. "We also started taking mortar fire into the patrol base, which also demonstrated that there was somebody who knew about the weapons system and how to operate it."

"So that was a sign that this was going to be different?" Logan asks.

"Yes, that was a sign," Ford says.

At one point, the Taliban even broke through the Green Berets' perimeter, but were pushed back. Maj. Ford called in air support. But the bombs couldn't stop the Taliban - they were everywhere.

Using an unmanned aerial vehicle as their eyes in the sky, the Green Berets located a compound near the town graveyard that they suspected the Taliban were using as a command center.

Team Sergeant Thom Maholic led a small group of men from the Green Beret patrol base to the compound, a third of a mile away. The Taliban pulled back, but a short distance away they were dug in with machine guns.

"There was enemy located in three different positions in this irrigation ditch," Ford remembers.

Continued



Produced by Tom Anderson, Max McClellan, and Jenny Dubin
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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by grim56z April 18, 2008 2:28 PM PDT
Army Special Forces uses superior technical advantage to defeat the Enemy. The Taliban were no match for American aircraft and its air to surface attack capabilities. Bin Laden cannot fight science. His soldiers will simply be destroyed by U.S. fire.
Reply to this comment
by antoniof123 April 18, 2008 2:34 PM PDT
Unable to find reinforcements to come to their rescue, the surrounded soldiers planned an ingenious nighttime escape. They radioed the support aircraft above them to beam an infrared light invisible to the naked eye on a path back to their patrol base. The Green Berets, using their night-vision glasses, could see the beam and led their men to safety, while the aircraft attacked anything moving beyond the infrared beam.

Unable to find reinforcements why not what is wrong with the administration oh wait they attacked the wrong country.
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 April 18, 2008 2:58 PM PDT
what a crock , these guys died for nothing

a war already lost by the neo con cabal in washington,

an occupation in Iraq being lost as we speak,

a debacle of immense proportions the neo cons and their republicon allies have turned the USA into a third world country
Reply to this comment
by neo267-2009 April 18, 2008 3:08 PM PDT
So why is it that American news articles about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan read like terrorist recruting propaganda? The real enemy is here.
Reply to this comment
by speakinup April 18, 2008 3:17 PM PDT
joyous666 - you are a piece of sh|t.


TERRORIST-LOVER
Reply to this comment
by tawpdawg11 April 18, 2008 3:19 PM PDT
"The battle indicates that the war with the Taliban in Afghanistan is far from over."

If we keep waxin'' their azz at a 60 to 1 ratio it shouldn''t take long to mop em up!
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 April 18, 2008 3:24 PM PDT
it''s spelled ''top dog'',

and we had a better ratio than that in Vietnam

we lost there because the republicons were doing the same thing that they are doing right now,

they are in this war to make money, and thats all,

chicken hawk war profiteers, republicon pigs,

like this garbage? vote mcbushcain four more
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 April 18, 2008 3:36 PM PDT
right on huckle barry4

however , the neo cons do not want to win,

they want the war to last 100 years,

they make more money that way,

look at Vietnam, we had an outfit called pacific arciticts and engineers, they are called haliburton now, they made billion s out of 11 years of war
Reply to this comment
by pollroller1 April 18, 2008 3:41 PM PDT
I also don''t think this war is about winning. It''s about making money. Our brave young men and women are over there risking everything to try and win but the people in charge just want to keep the war going for profit. I hope I''m wrong, but I don''t think so. God bless our vets. I want y''all to know that I love you guys and appreciate every thing you have done for all of us.
Reply to this comment
by grim56z April 18, 2008 3:50 PM PDT
Hey joyous88, save your schizophrenia. Only the Thorazine and Haldol can save your demented mind.
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 April 18, 2008 3:55 PM PDT
what does winning the occupation of Iraq look like?

What can we do the the Taliban that we did not try on

the Vietnamese?, the people of these countries were not

set free by us, we enslaved them , and they will continue to fight us until we leave them alone,

or until haliburton and the republicons have made enough money
Reply to this comment
by caliengineer April 18, 2008 4:17 PM PDT
I suspect Iranian training myself. I do not believe for an instant that this training happened in Afghanistan and no satellite picked up the base & action.
Reply to this comment
by libsrweak April 18, 2008 4:23 PM PDT
Posted by joyous88 at 03:55 PM : Apr 18, 2008
+ report abuse
*****************

of course you are running on an impression that the vietcongs and the talibans are PRETTY DECENT PEOPLE JUST TRYING TO LIVE...you are so fu cking naive!!!!!!!!!!!!

here is a clue to change your presepective on things a bit..THIS COUNTRY IS NOT THAT BAD..stop thinking that we are always enslaving people...IF YOU TRULLY BELIEVE THAT WE ARE..THEN SPARE ME TO BOOHOOHOO *** AND GET THE FU CK OUT OF HERE.
Reply to this comment
by bluestardad April 18, 2008 4:28 PM PDT
START WAR CRIMES TRIALS AGAINST BUSH CHENEY AND THE ISRAELI NEOCONS WHO STARTED THE IRAQ WAR AND LEFT OUR MILITARY IN AFGHANISTAN TO FIGHT ON THE CHEAP!
Reply to this comment
by mikeabc2 April 18, 2008 4:33 PM PDT
Judging from some of the comments here some of you seem to have completely forgotten why we''re in Afghanistan. Duh! How about people that harbored terrorists that killed 3,000 of our citizens. Oh yea, we invaded Afghanistan for all of it''s riches, give me a break. I might agree with you on Iraq & why we shouldn''t be there but not on Afghanistan.
Reply to this comment
by talkingham April 18, 2008 4:38 PM PDT
Bush Cheney literally allowed the Taliban and Osama to walk off the battlefield virtually undamaged so they would remain a terrorist force and help prop up his so-called war on terror.

We must have the worst intelligence service fo any major nation, we''er always surprised by what the "enemy" does. Maybe someone gives them out "intelligence" to keep them active.
Reply to this comment
by zykracosmos April 18, 2008 4:39 PM PDT
We are right to be in Afghanistan. This is where the attack on 9/11 was planned, and the Taliban are the ones who made sure Osama Bin Laden had the refuge he needed to unleash his terrorism on the West. We should never allow them back in power, or you can bet it will be worse. Iraq is another story. Cheney used 9/11 to convince Bush to use the opportunity to depose Saddam, so Halliburton could go back to drilling cheap oil there (as they had before Saddam kicked them out). It would be stupid to assume the former CEO of Halliburton would do otherwise, and their windfall no-bid contracts have proven it since. Now we are fighting a two-front war that didn''t have to be, and we don''t have the manpower to do what we should have done in Afghanistan in the first place.
Reply to this comment
by antoniof123 April 18, 2008 4:43 PM PDT
Now we are fighting a two-front war that didn''''t have to be, and we don''''t have the manpower to do what we should have done in Afghanistan in the first place.

Posted by ZykraCosmos at 04:39 PM : Apr 18, 2008

You are absoultly correct thanks to the stupid neo con party (former Republicans). They did just like Hitler took on two fronts and then faced the Russain winter along with the Allied Air no wonder they lost. Well, guess what the cable that is in charge you know his grandfather was selling wepons to the nazis.

Yes, I can see were they got there militarty training from.
Reply to this comment
by blackwater66-2009 April 18, 2008 5:07 PM PDT
To my Brothers in Arms...
I am an American Special Forces soldier. A professional!
I will do all that my nation requires of me.
I am a volunteer, knowing well the hazards of my profession.
I serve with the memory of those who have gone before me:
Roger''s Rangers, Francis Marion, Mosby''s Rangers,
the first Special Service Forces and Ranger Battalions
of World War II, the Airborne Ranger Companies of Korea.
I pledge to uphold the honor and integrity of all I am - in all I do.
I am a professional soldier.
I will teach and fight wherever my nation requires.
I will strive always, to excel in every art and artifice of war.
I know that I will be called upon to perform tasks
in isolation, far from familiar faces and voices,
with the help and guidance of my God.
I will keep my mind and body clean, alert and strong,
for this is my debt to those who depend upon me.
I will not fail those with whom I serve.
I will not bring shame upon myself or the forces.
I will maintain myself, my arms, and my equipment
in an immaculate state as befits a Special Forces soldier.
I will never surrender though I be the last.
If I am taken, I pray that I may have the strength
to spit upon my enemy.
My goal is to succeed in any mission
- and live to succeed again.
I am a member of my nation''s chosen soldiery.
God grant that I may not be found wanting,
that I will not fail this sacred trust.
"De Oppresso Liber"
Reply to this comment
by j-whitman April 18, 2008 5:11 PM PDT
blackwater66,,,, Well said, obviously they need you to go back to active duty.
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 April 18, 2008 5:11 PM PDT
libsrweak,

don''t be a fool, what does that have to do with anything now,

Osama bin laden has left Afganistan, we lost him, the

war there is now with the people who live there and they want us out,

its the same in Iraq,

Wake up boy! We do not belong in other peoples countries,

After we kick the taliban''s butti we need to get the helll out,

and because most of the terrorists are allready out of there,
and are hiding out with OB Laden, we should leave.

talk about america making slaves what do you call
a million chinese working for wall mart at 10 cents
a day,

the neo cons and people like you have turned the USA
into a third world country
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 April 18, 2008 5:14 PM PDT
blackwater66,

thats fine talk bro, HooRah!, beenthere

but its got nothing to do with us needing to get out

of this mess, our leaders have failed us
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 April 18, 2008 6:27 PM PDT
onlythereal,

what a crock, you are full of shiit,

everyone respects the troops , don''t pretend that

that only republicon conservative clowns do it,

you a simple liar , if you supported the troops, than

even someone like you would want to end this immoral

greed driven occupation in Iraq and let them come home,

get ooff your asss and go to Iraq and find out the truth
Reply to this comment
by questionnews April 18, 2008 6:37 PM PDT
"Higher beings from outer space may not want to tell us the secrets of life, because we''re not ready. But maybe they''ll change their tune after a little torture."

Jack Handey
Reply to this comment
by libsrweak April 18, 2008 6:39 PM PDT
Posted by joyous88 at 05:11 PM : Apr 18, 2008
+ report abuse

************

what does it matter now?? BIT CH YOU BROUGH THE ISSUE UP.

what people?? the only ''people'' who wants us out are the very same people who are rellying on morons like you to justify this own lust for power and greed..

you have a very misguided idea about the nature of our enemy..terrorists are out?? what can you contain radical islamic ideology??? that would be so easy now would it..your cowardice and denial is making things more difficult to combat our enemy..

we had your carter/clintonish style of combating terrroism for a long time..and it made it stronger, bolder and more defiant..AND GUESS WHAT..YOU ARE making sure the carter/clinton legacy lives on
Reply to this comment
by questionnews April 18, 2008 6:41 PM PDT
"I hope in the future Americans are thought of as a warlike, vicious people, because I bet a lot of high schools would pick ''Americans'' as their mascot."

Jack Handey
Reply to this comment
by libsrweak April 18, 2008 6:48 PM PDT
Posted by Questionnews at 06:41 PM : Apr 18, 2008
+ report abuse

******************

no wonder liberal hollywood is big..morons like you follow whatever falls out of thier mouths as gospel..

next time dont pick a comedian..
Reply to this comment
by questionnews April 18, 2008 6:53 PM PDT
Posted by Questionnews at 06:41 PM : Apr 18, 2008
+ report abuse

******************

no wonder liberal hollywood is big..morons like you follow whatever falls out of thier mouths as gospel..

next time dont pick a comedian..

Posted by libsrweak at 06:48 PM : Apr 18, 2008


Geeez. Your''re about as fun as a sack of dead kittens. But I''m sure everybody you know already knows that.
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 April 18, 2008 7:50 PM PDT
the blog seems to be taken over by the mentally ill

of the republicon party,

if you clowns really cared about the troops you would want them home,

81% of americans think this thing is a mess and our

country is on the wrong track, what are you guys

taking or smoking that you don''t know right from wrong?
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 April 18, 2008 7:56 PM PDT
conservative losers; if the big white guy in the

pulpit told you to dress like monkeys and dance in the street you would be out there right now,

why aren''t you losers in Iraq like the rest of us, ask

a real trooper if he wants to stay in that shiithole

for GW Bush''s war

you are Un-American

Reply to this comment
by cbville72 April 18, 2008 8:35 PM PDT
Posted by joyous88 at 07:56 PM : Apr 18, 2008

They have the courage to fight because they beleive in the war. Unfortunately you take their courage and use it as some sort of point in an insane rant solely based on liberal politics. The funny thing is that right up until the war, most of the liberal leaders you hold up on high were FOR THE WAR as well. You''re a disgrace to the country. Those soldiers are heroes and you are a piece of $hit.
God Bless America!

PS It is also nice to see Barack Hussein Obama being taken to the mat for going to a church where a disgusting anti-american, racist preacher gives sermons based on politics and his own racist ideals.
Reply to this comment
by cbville72 April 18, 2008 8:42 PM PDT
%u201CI will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force %u2014 if necessary %u2014 to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security.%u201D
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002 |

This from one of "onlythelibs" heroes
Reply to this comment
by cbville72 April 18, 2008 8:43 PM PDT
%u201CWe begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them.%u201D
- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

Another of "onlythelibs" heroes
Reply to this comment
by cbville72 April 18, 2008 8:48 PM PDT
%u201CWe know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.%u201D
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

But only Bush lied because he''s a republican. These democrats were just wrong and feel "really bad about it"

The Afghanistan and Iraq campaign have been strategic successes. Anyone versed in the military will tell you that. They will also tell you that these campaigns are going to take time. We have been, are now and will continue to win this war if we take the offensive like we have after 9/11.

BTW....Bill Clinton was in office for the 1st 2 terrorist attacks on this country by Osama Bin Laden. USS COLE, 1st WTC bombing. What did he do about it?
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 April 18, 2008 8:50 PM PDT
conservative loser still on here lieing your

Un-American asss off
Reply to this comment
by cbville72 April 18, 2008 8:51 PM PDT
%u201CWe begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them.%u201D
- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

Another of "onlythelibs" heroes
Reply to this comment
by cbville72 April 18, 2008 9:02 PM PDT
conservative loser still on here lieing your

Un-American asss off


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by joyous88 at 08:50 PM : Apr 18, 2008

Actually you use of the word lieing is incorrect. In your sntence the correct form would be lying. Also in your closing sentence, you incorrectly spelled "asss". It should be AS$ES. You should also start each sentence or thought with a Capital. Also, you include no punctation in your inane rant. Did you get to 4th or 5th grade? I can''t quite figure that one out.
Hope this helps.

Reply to this comment
by ioweign April 18, 2008 9:21 PM PDT
Weapons of Mass Destruction

Announcing the invasion of Iraq on March 19, 2003, Mr. Bush said, "Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."

Two months into the war, on May 29, 2003, Mr. Bush said weapons of mass destruction had been found.

"We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories," Mr. Bush told Polish television. "For those who say we haven''t found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they''re wrong, we found them."

On Sept. 9, 2004, in Pennsylvania, Mr. Bush said: "I recognize we didn''t find the stockpiles [of weapons] we all thought were there."

Reply to this comment
by ioweign April 18, 2008 9:22 PM PDT
Nation Building and the War in Iraq

During the 2000 campaign, George W. Bush argued against nation building and foreign military entanglements. In the second presidential debate, he said: "I''m not so sure the role of the United States is to go around the world and say, ''This is the way it''s got to be.''"

The United States is currently involved in nation building in Iraq on a scale unseen since the years immediately following World War II.

During the 2000 election, Mr. Bush called for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from the NATO peacekeeping mission in the Balkans. His administration now cites such missions as an example of how America must "stay the course."
Reply to this comment
by ioweign April 18, 2008 9:23 PM PDT
Iraq and the Sept. 11 Attacks

In a press conference in September 2002, six months before the invasion of Iraq, President Bush said, "you can''t distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the war on terror... they''re both equally as bad, and equally as evil, and equally as destructive."

In September of 2004, Mr. Bush said: "We''ve had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September 11th." Though he added that "there''s no question that Saddam Hussein had al Qaeda ties," the statement seemingly belied earlier assertions that Saddam and al Qaeda were %u201Cequally bad."

The Sept. 11 commission found there was no evidence Saddam was linked to the 9/11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
Reply to this comment
by donbl1 April 18, 2008 9:30 PM PDT
Ioweign, this story is about American heroes.

It is a story of duty, honor and country.

Your comments are more appropriate elsewhere.
Reply to this comment
by kesac4650 April 18, 2008 10:05 PM PDT
This IOEWIGN is just full of half truth''s innuendoes and intentional deciets.
Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of Great Britain, just said the other day, that the world owes G.W. Bush a great debt for taking a stand in the War Against Terror. That is true.
It is also true that some people like this IOWEIGN, want to give hope to our enemy, and attempt to sap the morale of the American people.
He/She/It probably goes to bed at night, of the opinion that he/she/it is a good person. There is intentional deciet in that opinion also.
Reply to this comment
by ranger1948 April 18, 2008 10:34 PM PDT
blackwater66
It hasbeena long time since ihave seen or heard that creed. It still makes me proud. To joyous88 this is a story about real heroes, respect that. They are fighting a just war in Afghanastan. It has nothing to do with Iraq, except that foces needed in Afghanastann are fighting in Iraq. Respect these fine soldiers who are true heroes of our country.
Reply to this comment
by wogerwabbit April 18, 2008 10:40 PM PDT
This IOEWIGN is just full of half truth''''s innuendoes and intentional deciets.
Posted by kesac4650 at 10:05 PM

NO! It was Bush that was full of half truth''s innuendoes and intentional deciets that took us into this nightmare of once being the greatest country in the history of the world into a nation of willing war criminals.

I spit on you and your kind for your cowardice in selling out your country because you''re afraid of a bunch of stone age camel jockeys. God, you make me sick!

You shame America with the world holocost you would tolerate and even perpetuate with your kill ''em all and let God sort ''em out attitude. You consider yourself pro-life I bet, too. You''re no such thing.

You think your tough... but your just scared and pitiful representative of the values you claim to represent. Your G.I Joe doll experience of war is very telling by your selfless willingness to sacrifice others for your cause.

Your neocon lies ring hollow and have no weight in today''s real reality. You''re heading for extinction... get used to it. You''ve spun your web into your burial shroud... it will be my great pleasure to wash your body. Amen!
Reply to this comment
by it_oldtimer April 18, 2008 10:59 PM PDT
As a former Green Beret I can tell you: you simply cannot beat a dedicated grass-roots insurgency. It''s just impossible. All Special Forces troops know this -- it'' taught to us from the very beginning. In fact, the SF bases it''s own strategy on this very fact.
Reply to this comment
by gce65 April 18, 2008 11:03 PM PDT
Hey, it''s a tough neighborhood! Did you expect to be greeted as liberators with flowers in the streets? (Oh, right, that''s what Cheney said would happen in Iraq.)

Still, read a little history: for centuries no country has had a particularly successful time subduing the Afghans.

The US had its best chance for success in 2002, but Bush/Cheney/Rummy pulled out and diverted troops to Iraq. Was their premature withdrawal an attempt at conservative birth control, or an impotent cry for Viagra?
Reply to this comment
by gce65 April 18, 2008 11:08 PM PDT
Even today we''ve still got CIA chief Michael Hayden parroting Rumsfeld''s pre-Iraq invasion days by saying he knows just where Osama bin Laden is. Rummy said he knew right where the WMD were. Lie. Now we''re suppose to believe the same kindf of story 5 years later? Not likely.
Reply to this comment
by joyous88 April 18, 2008 11:17 PM PDT
everyone respects the troops,

but I do not respect people whose only goal is to prop

up Bush at the expense of the troops,

It is very easy to put a yellow sticker on your car

and say support the troops, its too easy in fact,

when a lot of these clowns only care about supporting

the bush war.

Soldiers have to own up to the fact that their leader

has deserted them in the field and the right wing

clowns, the 18 percent, that still support that

leader are doing nothing to support the troops.

It''s all conservative propanganda.
Reply to this comment
by soldierboy37 April 19, 2008 1:42 AM PDT
joyous88-Soldiers have to own up to the fact that their leader has deserted them in the field?
I''m a soldier and I dont have to own up to sh*t! You see, I fight and have fought for the guy on my left and right. When I raised my hand I put all that political B.S. to the side. Yeah soldiers will bi*ch and complain, but when we are given a mission and no matter who sits at the top, we will execute.
Reply to this comment
by soldierboy37 April 19, 2008 5:45 AM PDT
WOW, Thats really to funny! Sleep well tonight knowing that us retarded radical fascist nazi terrorislamic jihadists muslim slavers, murderers and rapists are doing the heavy lifting so you dont have to.
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